Allen Shawn

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Allen Shawn
Born (1948-08-27) August 27, 1948 (age 73)[1]
OccupationComposer, pianist, educator, author
Spouse(s)
(m. 1979; div. 2002)

Yoshiko Sato
(m. 2007)
[1]
Children3
Parent(s)William Shawn
Cecille Lyon
RelativesWallace Shawn (brother)

Allen Evan Shawn (born August 27, 1948) is an American composer, pianist, educator, and author who lives in Vermont.

His music[]

Shawn began composing at the age of ten, but dates his mature work from 1977. He has written a dozen orchestral works, including a symphony, two piano concertos, a cello concerto, and a violin concerto; three chamber operas; five piano sonatas and many additional works for piano; and a large catalogue of chamber music, songs and choral music. Among Shawn's available recordings are several of chamber music, four CDs of piano music, including a CD devoted to his piano work by German pianist Julia Bartha, a Piano Concerto performed by Ursula Oppens with the Albany Symphony Orchestra under the direction of David Alan Miller, and the chamber opera The Music Teacher, with a libretto by his brother, Wallace Shawn.

As author[]

Shawn is the author of a book about Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg, Arnold Schoenberg's Journey, and a book about Leonard Bernstein, Leonard Bernstein: An American Musician.

He is also the author of Wish I Could Be There: Notes from a Phobic Life, which examines his experiences with anxiety and panic disorder, as well as his relationship with his autistic twin sister Mary,[3] and Twin: A Memoir, also about Mary and his relationship with her.[4] He discussed Twin with Terry Gross on WHYY's Fresh Air on January 3, 2011.[5]

Personal life[]

Shawn is the son of The New Yorker editor William Shawn, and the brother of the actor and playwright Wallace Shawn. His family is of Jewish background. He received a bachelor's degree from Harvard University, a master's degree from Columbia University, and studied in France with Nadia Boulanger.[6]

He teaches composition and music history at Bennington College and was formerly married to novelist Jamaica Kincaid, with whom he has a son, Harold Shawn, and a daughter, Annie Shawn.

He is currently married to pianist Yoshiko Sato, with whom he has a son, Noa Shawn.

Books[]

  • Arnold Schoenberg's Journey (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2002, ISBN 0374105901)
  • Wish I Could Be There: Notes from a Phobic Life (New York: Viking, 2007, ISBN 9780670038428)
  • Twin: A Memoir (New York: Viking, 2011, ISBN 9780670022373)
  • Leonard Bernstein: An American Musician (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2014, ISBN 9780300144284)

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Vermont, Marriage Records, 1909-2008
  2. ^ New York, New York, Birth Index, 1910-1965
  3. ^ Shawn, Allen. Wish I Could Be There: Notes from a Phobic Life (New York: Viking, 2007)
  4. ^ Shawn, Allen. Twin: A Memoir (New York: Viking, 2011)
  5. ^ "Parallel Lives: Having A Twin With Mental Illness". NPR.org. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  6. ^ "Allen Shawn, Nonpop New Music Composer". kalvos.org. Retrieved March 21, 2018.

External links[]

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